05-03-2023, 11:11 PM
Carolyn Greenwood was diligently taking notes in the classroom. They were being lectured on the importance of restricting male rights in order to prevent patriarchal re-assertion, after having been shown a film on the matter. Carolyn had covered the topic in school when she was fourteen, but perhaps at twenty, she would have new insights into the matter for the essay she would have to write on it.
Her cellmate Cass was sat next to her, pretending to be asleep. Unlike Carolyn, who had sat down when told, Cass had needed to be dragged into the room and restrained to the chair at her ankles and waist. Then, she’d needed to be gagged as she continually interrupted the lecture. And after she threw her notepad at the teacher, she’d had her wrists restrained as well. Carolyn did not expect Cass to get high marks on her essay.
After the class was over, they were taken to lunch where they were given their bland gruel. Carolyn and the others who had obeyed in class unprompted were given apples as well. Carolyn savoured the apple, finding the gruel barely edible as someone accustomed to fancy meals prepared by the family servants. Cass made several jokes to that effect, but Carolyn did not even realise she was being teased: it was merely a fact for her.
They were given what passed for leisure time after lunch, which is to say, they could talk to each other in the same canteen room as they ate, on the hard metal benches, with the hard metal tables, and the armed guards watching them from the walkway above. Alternatively, they were allowed to return to their cells if they wished. Cass, naturally, sat with another group of loud, traitorous dissidents. Carolyn asked to return to her cell, and sat on the floor, beginning work on her essay. She intended to get the highest marks. Three months? No, not if she could help it. She would pass that exam in three weeks.
*
Camille’s group were split up depending on their school year, and taken to classrooms where girls from other cells already sat. Camille was among the older group, rather than with her own age – she had begun her education early, and was already on the verge of graduating from the Maytown Academy. That was not uncommon in Maytown, but far less common elsewhere. The fifteen-year-olds started at her a little when she was placed in their group.
The morning passed uneventfully. They were taken to standard school lessons; although starting much earlier than a standard Kerlian school. After continuous, exhausting lessons from an early 6:30am right through to 1pm, they were given a brief half-hour lunch consisting of basic food, and then taken right back to the classrooms. Except, instead of algebra and biology, this time they were shown the same propaganda film that Carolyn was watching on the other side of the country.
Camille didn’t pay nearly as much attention. For her, it had been mere months since she’d covered this topic at the Academy. She knew what they’d expect her to write in her essay. Nonsense propaganda that agreed with everything they said. Her essay at the Academy had been critical of the idea, but she suspected that wouldn’t fly here. Regardless, writing a propaganda essay was easier than writing a critical one, so she trusted her memory and let herself daydream through the film.
*
Jia’s class also had normal school lessons in the morning. She was with her own age group, thankfully, as she wouldn’t have known how to explain a difference. They were given a whole extra half hour before they began, and another half-hour break at 10am. It was still a long, long period for an eight-year-old. There were only six of them in her class, five other girls from different cell groups. They’d all been here longer and looked… broken down. None of them questioned anything; they followed orders like automatons and there was no emotion in their eyes. They scared Jia.
After lunch, they were also shown a propaganda film, though this one was aimed at a younger audience. It was a cartoon, showing members of the Council of Kerlile battling against evil foreign males using superpowers. Jia couldn’t help but laugh when she saw a cartoon version of her eighty-one-year-old great-grandmother punch a caricature of President Brown of LOM through a wall. In fact, she laughed hard enough that the teacher-cum-prison-guard walked over with a ruler and demanded Jia hold out her hands.
Corporal punishment was used in Kerlian schools, even the normal kinds. And the Maytown Academy was one of the strictest schools out there. Jia was used to this, as much as she wished she wasn’t. It did stop her laughing, however. She complied, expecting the slight pain of her teacher at Maytown. The Alt-Ed teacher, however, hit much harder. Jia couldn’t help but gasp, and would’ve screamed if she hadn’t stopped herself at the very last minute.
“I will not tolerate another outburst,” the teacher warned her. “If you continue to disrespect the Council, I will have you sent to the solitary cells.”
Jia did not want to find out what that entailed. She spent the rest of the film watching closely, silently, showing no emotions. Her hand still stung in pain, and she tried to ignore it. Acknowledging pain led to more pain. Once the film was over, the teacher made them sit in a circle and talk about what they thought. The other five girls all recited about how great the Council was, how they were kept safe from the big scary patriarchal countries. Then came Jia’s turn.
“Uh, I like it because,” she paused. She thought it was nonsense, but she was wise enough not to say so. “Uh because the bad men need to be stopped.”
“Is that all, Jia?” the teacher said.
“Uh, and the Council protects us from the bad men. Oh, and the bad women too who let men control them.”
“Good, Jia. We will, however, need to work on your understanding of the benefits of Kerlile. That is a rather basic analysis, even for one your age. Now, you will all go to dinner. The five of you will be given activity tokens. Jia, given your outburst earlier, you are denied the opportunity to participate in activities. After dinner you will report to room seven for your punishment.”
Punishment? Jia thought with fear. She didn’t say anything else, but all through dinner she was frightened. What were they going to do to her?
She reported as told to room seven. A queue of glum-looking girls was lined up outside, some of whom were handcuffed. The queue included Suzie, who had a cut on her lip that wasn’t there yesterday, and who looked rather smug about it. She nodded to Jia as she joined the queue.
“Hey Jia! Glad to see at least one of our cell isn’t a coward. I managed to make that smug woman with the green scarf slap me hard enough that, well,” she pointed at her cut with her tongue. “It takes so much to make them hurt our age group, so I had to really try!”
“Why…?” Jia couldn’t even formulate the question.
“Oh, my sister and I have a bet. She’s thirteen and we both got arrested together. I bet her that I could get more scars than her. They’re not as careful with the teenagers though, so I’ve really got my work cut out for me!”
Jia leaned against the wall, dizzy. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real.
“Line up!” a voice demanded, and Jia quickly jumped into line. Suzie and some of the others had to be grabbed and dragged into it. They were marched into a room with a big 7 on the door and sat on hard wooden benches in lines. Don’t panic, Jia.
They were handed out sheets of lined paper.
“You will write out ‘Long Live the Matriarchy’ precisely one hundred times. You will not speak. You will not move until you are finished. If you do not comply, you will be kept here until you do. You will not be given food until you are finished. You will not be permitted to use the bathroom. You will not be permitted to sleep. I strongly suggest you comply.”
“How am I meant to write lines in handcuffs?” Suzie asked, holding up her restrained hands.
“You should have thought of that before you attempted escape,” the woman smirked. “Now, be silent and begin!”
Jia was relieved. It could have been much worse. She got to work, tuning out the world around her as some of the others got yelled at for talking and other such things. Her hand, still sore from earlier, began to hurt even more, but she ignored it. They made them do this at the Academy if they were late or talked out of turn. It was fine, nothing Jia couldn’t handle. She finished and raised her hand, keeping her eyes on her desk, as she would have done if she was at the Academy. One of the teacher-prison-guards came over, checked her work, and ordered her to return to her cell. After she got up, she realised she was the first to finish.
When she returned to her cell, she was the only one there. The others were clearly still at whatever activities they were awarded with if they were sufficiently obedient during the day. Jia swore to herself she’d be more careful tomorrow. She ran her sore hand under the cold tap for a while, then she washed her face so it didn’t look quite like she’d spent all the previous night crying. She took a deep breath, brushed her teeth, and crawled into bed. She would be better prepared tomorrow, she thought. And before the others were back, she was fast asleep.
Her cellmate Cass was sat next to her, pretending to be asleep. Unlike Carolyn, who had sat down when told, Cass had needed to be dragged into the room and restrained to the chair at her ankles and waist. Then, she’d needed to be gagged as she continually interrupted the lecture. And after she threw her notepad at the teacher, she’d had her wrists restrained as well. Carolyn did not expect Cass to get high marks on her essay.
After the class was over, they were taken to lunch where they were given their bland gruel. Carolyn and the others who had obeyed in class unprompted were given apples as well. Carolyn savoured the apple, finding the gruel barely edible as someone accustomed to fancy meals prepared by the family servants. Cass made several jokes to that effect, but Carolyn did not even realise she was being teased: it was merely a fact for her.
They were given what passed for leisure time after lunch, which is to say, they could talk to each other in the same canteen room as they ate, on the hard metal benches, with the hard metal tables, and the armed guards watching them from the walkway above. Alternatively, they were allowed to return to their cells if they wished. Cass, naturally, sat with another group of loud, traitorous dissidents. Carolyn asked to return to her cell, and sat on the floor, beginning work on her essay. She intended to get the highest marks. Three months? No, not if she could help it. She would pass that exam in three weeks.
*
Camille’s group were split up depending on their school year, and taken to classrooms where girls from other cells already sat. Camille was among the older group, rather than with her own age – she had begun her education early, and was already on the verge of graduating from the Maytown Academy. That was not uncommon in Maytown, but far less common elsewhere. The fifteen-year-olds started at her a little when she was placed in their group.
The morning passed uneventfully. They were taken to standard school lessons; although starting much earlier than a standard Kerlian school. After continuous, exhausting lessons from an early 6:30am right through to 1pm, they were given a brief half-hour lunch consisting of basic food, and then taken right back to the classrooms. Except, instead of algebra and biology, this time they were shown the same propaganda film that Carolyn was watching on the other side of the country.
Camille didn’t pay nearly as much attention. For her, it had been mere months since she’d covered this topic at the Academy. She knew what they’d expect her to write in her essay. Nonsense propaganda that agreed with everything they said. Her essay at the Academy had been critical of the idea, but she suspected that wouldn’t fly here. Regardless, writing a propaganda essay was easier than writing a critical one, so she trusted her memory and let herself daydream through the film.
*
Jia’s class also had normal school lessons in the morning. She was with her own age group, thankfully, as she wouldn’t have known how to explain a difference. They were given a whole extra half hour before they began, and another half-hour break at 10am. It was still a long, long period for an eight-year-old. There were only six of them in her class, five other girls from different cell groups. They’d all been here longer and looked… broken down. None of them questioned anything; they followed orders like automatons and there was no emotion in their eyes. They scared Jia.
After lunch, they were also shown a propaganda film, though this one was aimed at a younger audience. It was a cartoon, showing members of the Council of Kerlile battling against evil foreign males using superpowers. Jia couldn’t help but laugh when she saw a cartoon version of her eighty-one-year-old great-grandmother punch a caricature of President Brown of LOM through a wall. In fact, she laughed hard enough that the teacher-cum-prison-guard walked over with a ruler and demanded Jia hold out her hands.
Corporal punishment was used in Kerlian schools, even the normal kinds. And the Maytown Academy was one of the strictest schools out there. Jia was used to this, as much as she wished she wasn’t. It did stop her laughing, however. She complied, expecting the slight pain of her teacher at Maytown. The Alt-Ed teacher, however, hit much harder. Jia couldn’t help but gasp, and would’ve screamed if she hadn’t stopped herself at the very last minute.
“I will not tolerate another outburst,” the teacher warned her. “If you continue to disrespect the Council, I will have you sent to the solitary cells.”
Jia did not want to find out what that entailed. She spent the rest of the film watching closely, silently, showing no emotions. Her hand still stung in pain, and she tried to ignore it. Acknowledging pain led to more pain. Once the film was over, the teacher made them sit in a circle and talk about what they thought. The other five girls all recited about how great the Council was, how they were kept safe from the big scary patriarchal countries. Then came Jia’s turn.
“Uh, I like it because,” she paused. She thought it was nonsense, but she was wise enough not to say so. “Uh because the bad men need to be stopped.”
“Is that all, Jia?” the teacher said.
“Uh, and the Council protects us from the bad men. Oh, and the bad women too who let men control them.”
“Good, Jia. We will, however, need to work on your understanding of the benefits of Kerlile. That is a rather basic analysis, even for one your age. Now, you will all go to dinner. The five of you will be given activity tokens. Jia, given your outburst earlier, you are denied the opportunity to participate in activities. After dinner you will report to room seven for your punishment.”
Punishment? Jia thought with fear. She didn’t say anything else, but all through dinner she was frightened. What were they going to do to her?
She reported as told to room seven. A queue of glum-looking girls was lined up outside, some of whom were handcuffed. The queue included Suzie, who had a cut on her lip that wasn’t there yesterday, and who looked rather smug about it. She nodded to Jia as she joined the queue.
“Hey Jia! Glad to see at least one of our cell isn’t a coward. I managed to make that smug woman with the green scarf slap me hard enough that, well,” she pointed at her cut with her tongue. “It takes so much to make them hurt our age group, so I had to really try!”
“Why…?” Jia couldn’t even formulate the question.
“Oh, my sister and I have a bet. She’s thirteen and we both got arrested together. I bet her that I could get more scars than her. They’re not as careful with the teenagers though, so I’ve really got my work cut out for me!”
Jia leaned against the wall, dizzy. This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be real.
“Line up!” a voice demanded, and Jia quickly jumped into line. Suzie and some of the others had to be grabbed and dragged into it. They were marched into a room with a big 7 on the door and sat on hard wooden benches in lines. Don’t panic, Jia.
They were handed out sheets of lined paper.
“You will write out ‘Long Live the Matriarchy’ precisely one hundred times. You will not speak. You will not move until you are finished. If you do not comply, you will be kept here until you do. You will not be given food until you are finished. You will not be permitted to use the bathroom. You will not be permitted to sleep. I strongly suggest you comply.”
“How am I meant to write lines in handcuffs?” Suzie asked, holding up her restrained hands.
“You should have thought of that before you attempted escape,” the woman smirked. “Now, be silent and begin!”
Jia was relieved. It could have been much worse. She got to work, tuning out the world around her as some of the others got yelled at for talking and other such things. Her hand, still sore from earlier, began to hurt even more, but she ignored it. They made them do this at the Academy if they were late or talked out of turn. It was fine, nothing Jia couldn’t handle. She finished and raised her hand, keeping her eyes on her desk, as she would have done if she was at the Academy. One of the teacher-prison-guards came over, checked her work, and ordered her to return to her cell. After she got up, she realised she was the first to finish.
When she returned to her cell, she was the only one there. The others were clearly still at whatever activities they were awarded with if they were sufficiently obedient during the day. Jia swore to herself she’d be more careful tomorrow. She ran her sore hand under the cold tap for a while, then she washed her face so it didn’t look quite like she’d spent all the previous night crying. She took a deep breath, brushed her teeth, and crawled into bed. She would be better prepared tomorrow, she thought. And before the others were back, she was fast asleep.
LIDUN President 2024 | she/her | Puppets: Kerlile, Glanainn, Yesteria, Zongongia, Zargothrax